A Scent Like No Other
by mdelpin
Summary: When Sting was younger his dragon told him he had a soulmate and he would easily recognize him by his scent. Now, Sting ventures from town to town doing his best to survive on his own, but always searching for that one person made just for him. Shadowlight Week 2019 Prompt: Scents


Shadowlight Week 2019

Prompt: Scents

_Please, don't make me do this! I have no one else._

_Sting, your journey is just beginning. Even though it might not feel like it now, you won't be alone for long. There is someone out there the universe made just for you, a soulmate. _

_For me? But how will I know who they are?_

_You will know them by their scent. Even though you will encounter other smells that will call for your attention, your soulmate will have a scent like no other. They will know you as well, and once you find each other, you will want for nothing._

_I'll miss you, Weisslogia._

_And I you, little one. Be strong and may the gods smile upon you. Now, become a true dragon slayer._

Sting woke up from yet another nightmare of killing his foster father. Over the years it had become a bit easier. He'd finally grown to accept that in the end, it had been a merciful death. Nowadays he thought more of the words Weisslogia had told him.

Sting tried to hold on to the hope the words gave him, but it was hard. Ever since he'd somehow woken up in front of a huge gate, the world had been nothing but a myriad of loud sounds and unpleasant smells.

He'd fended for himself as best he could, but he'd yet to meet too many people that would go out of their way to be kind to a young boy on his own. Sting had already escaped several situations where people initially appeared kind but changed their tune once they'd gained his trust, demanding grueling work for little food, while others had tried to beat him into submission. So he managed on his own, scrounging for food and finding defensible places to sleep.

One day he sauntered into a town, and as he walked through, a group of boys took offense to him. They came at him, fighting him with not much skill but a lot of anger. There was a faint smell that caught his attention, but he didn't think much of it at first, too busy defending himself from the unprovoked attack. Sting had learned early on from his first scuffle some months earlier that he was a lot stronger than most boys and he could easily hurt them if he wasn't careful.

It wasn't that he particularly cared for their well being, he'd just learned the hard way it would bring the wrong sort of attention. It was only after he'd immobilized all of his attackers that Sting was able to find the source of the scent. It was a small cat, but different than a typical housecat. For one, he could use a type of magic that gave him access to wings, allowing him to fly. He could also talk, and he did so often and loudly. He informed Sting that his name was Lector and he didn't really stop talking after that. Lector was loud, and a bit of a braggart, but Sting loved him on sight. From that day on, they traveled together, each gaining strength and confidence from the other.

It was nice to have company, Sting was able to show affection to another being again and receive it in return. He was content even though, more often than not, Lector got him in trouble. His constant bragging of Sting's fighting skills to anyone who would listen had earned Sting many a fight from people who wanted to test their strength against his. As much as Sting wanted to yell at Lector to stop, he couldn't. Sting knew that Lector was proud of him and he didn't mean any harm. On occasion it even earned them some jewels, allowing them to eat better than usual.

Today was one of those days, Sting had some jewels in his pocket, it wasn't a lot, but it was enough to buy them some food. They followed the mouth-watering smell of food towards the market of the village they were currently walking through. Sting immediately grew alert as a strong scent caught his attention, it was somehow a combination of all of the things Sting liked the most, and he hurried towards it, only to be knocked flat on his back by a dark-haired boy who looked to be no older than him.

The boy got up quickly, holding a loaf of bread to his chest. He muttered an apology before looking behind him and running as fast as he could away from the market. Sting had still not gotten up, the wind knocked out of him not by the fall but by the realization that the scent that had drawn him came from the boy. His heartbeat quickened in his chest as he remembered Weisslogia's words.

Sting looked behind him to see what the boy had been so afraid of and spied a large man running towards him and yelling _Thief_. Quickly understanding the situation, Sting stuffed his hand in his pocket and grabbed his jewels throwing them at the man and running in the direction the boy had gone. He ignored Lector's outraged cries about their missed meal and set about tracking the enticing scent.

The boy must have been a fast runner because Sting had to follow the scent all the way to the woods that were just outside of the town. Given his enhanced senses Sting was able to locate him while he was still a fair distance away. The boy sat underneath a copse of trees, tearing chunks of bread from the stolen loaf and feeding them to a cat that looked somewhat like Lector, although it was green in color.

Before Sting could get any closer, the boy lifted his head and scented the air, a joyful look blooming across his features as he put the loaf down on a small blanket to get up and walk towards Sting.

They met in the middle and stared at each other, wide-eyed and opened mouth, before saying at the exact same time.

_It's you!_

Sting laughed and introduced himself, "I'm Sting,"

Rogue smiled warmly, "I'm Rogue."

Rogue grabbed Sting's hand and led him back to the blanket his cat was sitting at. They sat down, and Rogue immediately broke off a large chunk of bread from his loaf and handed it over to his new friend.

From that moment on Sting and Rogue remained together, their bond growing stronger by the day and as Weisslogia had foretold they wanted for nothing.

A/N: This is my first entry for Shadowlight Week 2019 a Stingue event on Tumblr. I don't write these two very often as main characters but I hope you enjoy anyway! The next installment of this wil be posted tomorrow and is called High Hopes.


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